Shoe sewing machine



May 28,1935. c. F. WHITAKER- {2 3 SHOE SEWING MACHINE Filed June 14, 1933 I '2 Sheets$heet l c. F. WHITAKER SHQE SEWING MACHINE May 28, 1935.

Filed June 14, 1953 2 Sheets-Shet 2 Patented May 28, 1935 UNITED. STATE i OFF E 1 i f V SHOE SEWING MACHINE 7 Carl F. Whitaker, Beverly, Mass., assignor to United Shoe MachineryCorporatiom Paterson; f *N. J., a corporation of New Jersey I 1933, serial No. 675,739 f Application June14,

' T 11 Claims.

The present invention relates to wax thread sewing machines; and more particularly to improvements in channel forming and'work guid ing devices forMcKay typeshoe sewing machines,

5 which type of machine comprises a straight hook needle, a rotary horn arranged to extend within and support'th shoe, and a needle threading Whirl located in the horn. 1

In machines of the McKay type, due to the necessity of operating the needle, feed point, and

. presser-foot all from the side of thework opposite the rotary horn, the use of. channelling knife and an edge gage is rendered diflic'ulti In sewing womens high arch shoes,-the diificulty is" increased by the relatively; abrupt curvature between the forepart and the shank which'causes large variations in the positions ofthe operating devices when engaging this-part of the shoe.

The objects of the present-invention are] to provide on a' McKay type-*sewing];machine a channelling knife operating to out a groove of more nearly uniform depth than possible heretofore while the presser-foot clamps the work-and a suitable edge gage'actingto" guide the knife at a fixed distance from the edge of the sole.

' With these objects in view," a feature of the present invention contemplates the provision in a McKay type shoe sewing 'machine of a chan nelling knife operated jointly by the presser-foot and feed point to form a groove of uniform depth} A furtherfeature of the present invention contemplates a construction in which the distance from the point of operation of the channelling knife to the edgeof the sole is determined by an edge gage resiliently mounted on the presser-foot to permit it"to yieldingly engage the shoe, so

that it will guide the edge of the shoe sole evenly along the instep portion of the shoe'where the upper projects beyond the sole edge. Further features of the invention consist o certain constructions, arrangements and combi-' nations of parts, the advantages of which will be obvious to those skilled in the art from the following description. g r i In the drawings illustrating the invention in its preferred form, Fig. 1 is a view'in front elevation of a portion, including the stitch forming and work feeding devices, of a sewing machineembodying the present invention, parts being broken away and shown in section; Fig. 2 is a corresponding View on an enlarged scale of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1; Fig.3 is-a view in side elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2, looking from the right; Fig: 4 is a sectional View taken along the line' 4--4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5-

' relation with the. other stitch-forming devices.

is a View in elevation on an enlarged scale of the feedlpoint and a portion of. the channelling knife shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a plan view indicating the relationof the feed point and channelling knife, looking in the direction of the arrow. 6 in 5 Fig. 5; and Fig. 7 is a 'sectionalview, taken on' the line LJ of Fig. l.

The machine illustrated in the drawings-oomprises as'traight hook needle 2, a rotary work supporting horn 4, having a needle threading l0 whirl 6, a presser-foot 8, a feed point It), arotary shuttle l2, and a loopspreader M to openthe loop of thread for engagement by the beak-of the shuttle; The presser-foot is actuated intermittently to clamp and release the workwhile the feed .point l0 engages and feeds the-work" alternately with the clamping action of the pressg er-foot, as is'usual in thistype of machine;

1 The presser-foot 8 is supported at the end of a vertical reciprocating presser-footbar IS. The presser-foot' is resiliently held" in audownward' positionan'd isintermittently retracted to re.- lease the work by mechanism indicated generally atlB, which in turn is operated-in suitable timed 25 The feed point Hiis clamped at the'lower end of a carrier 20 slidably mounted. for, vertical movement towards and away from the work in a guide frame 22 which is pivotally mounted at 24 .on'the main frameof themachine. r

The frame 22 is oscillated boutits'pivotto impart-feeding movements to-the'ifeed point I!) in the line of feed by means of a lever 25 which 7 is loosely mounted on ahub supported at the forwardiend of a rock shaft 26 oscillated by connections to a main 'sewingshaft of the'machine. The feed point ismo'ved into and from engage ment with the work by the sliding movements-of the feed point carrier 20 in the frame-22 through connections to'the presser-foot actuating mechanism Ma-These connections comprise, a link 28 pivotally connectedat one end to the upper end of-the'feed point carrier 20 and at the other end to the arm of a bell crank 30 fulcrumed on a shaft 32 secured'to an--'arm'34, a link 36 con-- nected between the other arm of the bell crank' I 30 and -Jan arm 1 38' connected with the presser-foot actuatingmechanism ,18, =the arrangement being such that the feed point isinovedxinto engagement with: the work while the press'er-foot releases'the work.- The arm 34 which carriesthe shaft 32 is fixed at one end to a shaft '40 rotatable in the frame of the machine and at the other end is connected to move with the reciprocating presserefootbar l6, 5

so that the lowermost position of the feed point, while in engagement with the work, is determined at least in part by the position of the presser-foot while clamping the work. All of the parts above briefly referred to are conthe length of the rod so as to face theworkas it is being fed. The upper endiof theknife exetends through a transverse opening 'in;a cylindrical member 44 loosely rotatable in the'enlarged forked" end of the: arm" 42" and? clamped. in placeby a set screw 46' threaded through an) axial openinglin the cylindrical membemflihe 'nie'rnber G4 is'* preventedi front. displacementi by! the position oftliezknife'between thesforked ends; of the i arm- 42 while" still permitting freer move ment of the lower end of the: knife in-thelinei of feed; By 'its mounting on the press'er-foot'ba'r,

the position of the loweren'dcof thekhiferis dew termined by' the: positiorrof the presserfootv on. the work, so that the knife will always out. a. stitch receiving groove of uniform. depth re gardless" ofthetlii'ckness of the work; i

To'actuate the knife while'the work is'clamped.

againstthe horn 4' by the presser-foot 8; the

feedpoint In isformedwith an enlargement 48, loosely surrounding the lower end' of the knife: to permit relativevmovement' towards and1from the work independentlyofthe feedpoint'; When the feed point'is raised and back fem. it moves the channelling knife '41" against the work; to

form a groove; and when the: work is released;

from the presser=foot,. the channelling knife is raised slightly and moves with the feed point to assist in feeding the work. To' render the ma! the-feed point and chann'elling knife operate through a slot 50' in the presser foot irrthe line of feed, as shown Fig. y t

The feed point; is provided with a removable work engaging knife member 52 mounted in a slot formed thereinsecure'd inplace byj means of ascrew 54 passing throughthe feed point. To assist in supporting the knife 82, a pin '56' in the feed point engages a slot in the'upper end o'fthe knife 5-2. When the knife is fixed in place by the screw 5'4,'the lower cutting edge extends in the-line of feed and engages the-work just in advance of'the channeling knife 4|. vThe channelling knife projectslinto the work deeper than the feecl'point knife 52, and follows the line of indentations Ifi-ad in the work .by the feed point,

so that substantially no irregularity; in the work"v is caused by the feed point in feeding the shoe. The feed point, act ng in advance of=the channelling knife also assists in guiding the chan-. nel knife to form the groove more evenly since the least resistance to the cutting action of the knife is offered along the line of the indenta tions formed by the feed point knife. I l j -As previously stated, an edge gage 58 is employed to guide the shoe being operated upon.

'Theed'ge gage is in thelform of an armlextending downwardly at an angle and rearwardly from the front of the machine so as to'engage the edge of the shoe sole, as indicated in Figure 3. In sewing the instep portion of a shoe where the upper projects beyond the edge of the sole,

the edge gage is permitted to rise from the dotdash line position of Figure 2, and accommodate itself to the thickness of the sole while still retainingsits gaging position, ,asshown inzthe solid lines ofFigures 2' and 3.

The edge gage is pivotally mounted on the outerend of a horizontal stud 83 secured within a passage formed at the upper end of the presserfoot where it joins the presser-foot bar 15. The stud GB is 'mainta-inediin position in the prcsscrfnot'byascrew 5'2"threaded through the presserfoot" and" engaging the stud 6d. The stud is formediwithzanzintegral flange 63 near its outer end andsa block 64 is loosely mounted on the stud between the flange and a washer 63 secured to theend of the stud. by a screw 66;, The lower edge of theefiange- 53:15: shaped to allow an up. wardpivotal movement of the block E54' and, isprovided; witha? shoulder with which a proj acting;

portion of the block-,fi -oontacts-to limit the down ward movement of the edge gage 58and block. The 'cdge'gage 53; at its upper endpassesthrougli. an opening in the block M rand -1s securediin. place, by a sorewflfi: engaging the edge gage, and the gage. is forcedx downwardly into-contact, with. the,

shoe. by acoiledspring 12, one end of which en.-

tersa passage formedin, the flan e 63, on the-stud 6B- and the other end of which engages a, slot in. the block: li t/men the arched portion. of the shoe iareached,andthe edge gage israised by the bulging'upper at the sideof the; shoe sole, the block-[8.4! rotating on the stud 53, and the spring 12"yielding sufficiently to pcrmitthis move ment, m I

Having thus} described'the. invention, what is. claimed-is: v e f V a l.. A shoe sewing machine of the McKay type having-,i-n combination, stitch formingwork feeding, devices including a straight hook needle, a rotary work supporting horn, a presser-foot for alternately clamping and releasingthe work supported by the. horn, and e feed acting on, the side of the. work engaged by the presser-foot, to-feed the work when released, av knife operat,-. ing in the line of feed with the feed p nt to form a. stitch receiving groove in the work, and means point a 2 A shoe sewing of the McKay type having, in combination, stitch forming and work feeding devices including a straight hook needle, a rotary work supperting horn, a pressere foot for alternately clamping and releasing the work supported by the horn, and a feed point acting on the side of the work engaged by the presser-foot to feed the Work when released, a reciprocating bar on which the p'resser-foot is mounted, a knife carried by but movable relatively to the bar in the line of feed, and means for-connecting the knife 'to the feed point to actuate the knife against the work while clamped.

3. A sewing machine of the McKay type having, in combination, stitch forming and work feeding devices including a straight hook needle, a rotary 'work' supporting horn, a resser-afoot for alternately clamping and releasing the work supported by the horn and a feed point acting on the side of the work engaged bythe presserfoot to feed the work when released, a reciproeating bar on which the presser-foot is mount ed, a knife pivoted to the bar to swing in'a plane parallel with the direction of work feed, and means connected to the feed point for actuating the knife against the work during the back feeding movement of thefeed point. p

4. A sewing machine of the McKay type having, in, combination, stitch forming and work feeding devices including a straight hook needle, a rotary work supporting horn, a presser-foot for alternately clamping and releasing the work supported by the horn, and a feed point acting on the side of the work engaged by the presserfoot to feed the work when released, a knife connected to the feed point and movable relative thereto toward and from the work, and means for connecting the knife with the presserfoot to cause the knife to forma stitch receiv: ing groove of uniform depth in the work.

5. A sewing machine of the McKay type having, in combination, stitch forming and work feeding devices including a straight hook needle,

' a rotary work supporting horn, a presser foot for alternately clamping and releasing the work supported on the horn, and a feed point formed with an edge elongated in the direction of feed acting on the side of the work engaged by the presser-foot to indent and feed the work when released, a knife connected to be operated by the feed point and movable relative thereto toward and from the work, and means for supporting the knife to cause the knife to form a uniform stitch receiving groove in the work coinciding with the surfaces on the work indented by the feed point.

6. A sewing machine of the McKay-type having, in combination, stitch forming and work feeding devices including a straight hook needle, a rotary work supporting horn, a presser foot for alternately clamping and releasing the work supported on the horn, a feed point formed with an edge elongated in the direction of feed acting on the side of the work engaged by the presser-foot to indent and feed the work when released, a knife connected to be operated by the feed point and movable relative thereto toward and from the work, andv means for supporting the knife with its cutting edge extending into the work deeper than the edge of the feed point to cause the knife to form a uniform stitch receiving groove in the work coinciding with the surfaces on the work indented by the feed point.

7. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming and work feeding devices including a needle, a work support, a presserfoot for alternately clamping and releasing the sole of a shoe supported on the work support and a feed point acting on the side of the shoe sole engaged by the presser-foot to feed the shoe when released, an edge gage movable on the presser-foot while retaining its gaging position,

and resilient means for maintaining the edge gage in yielding engagement with the shoe.

8. A shoe sewing machine having, in'combination, stitch forming and work feeding devices including a needle, a work support, a presserfoot for alternately clamping and releasing the sole of a shoe supported on the work support and a feed point acting on the side of the shoe sole engaged by the presser-foot to feed the shoe when released, an edge gage pivotally connected to the presser-foot to permit relative movement at right angles to the line offeed,;and resilient means for maintainingthe edge gage in posi-v tion to guide the projecting edge of the-shoe sole and at the same time permitting itto yield when engaged by the upper along the instep portion of the shoe. r V o r 9. A shoe sewing machine having, in combination, stitch forming and work feeding devices including a straight hook needle, a rotary work supporting horn, a presser-foot for alternately clamping and releasing the sole of a shoe supported on the horn and a feed point actingon the side of the shoe sole engaged by, the presser-foot to feed the shoe when released, a reciprocating bar on which the presser-foot is mounted, an edge gage pivoted on the presserfoot bar, and resilient meansfor maintaining the edge gage in engagement with the shoe.

10. A shoe sewing machineof the McKay type' having, in combination, stitch forming and work feeding'devices including a straight hook needle, a rotary work supporting horn, arpresserfoot having aslotted portion surrounding the point of operation of the needle for alternately clamping and releasing the work supported'by the horn and a feed point projecting through the slotted portion of the presser-foot to feed the work when released, a reciprocating bar on a which the presser-foot is mounted, a knife pivotally mounted on the bar to swing alon'gthe line of feedin theslotted portion of thepresser-foot and an edge gage pivotally mounted on the presser-foot bar to swing towards and from the work at the side of the slotted portion of the presser-foot; 7

11. A shoe sewing machine of the McKay type having, in combination, stitch forming and work feeding devices including a straight hook needle, a rotary work supporting horn, Ia presserfoot having a slotted portion surrounding the point of operation of the needle for alternately clamping and releasing the work supported by the horn and a feed point projecting through the slotted portion of thepresser-footto feed the work when released, a' reciprocating bar on which the presser-foot'is mounted, a work groove ing knife connected to move with the feed point along the line of feed in the slotted portion of- I the presser-foot, connections separate fromthe feed point for actuating the knife relatively to the feed point towards and from the work, and

an edge gage pivotally mounted on the presserfoot bar to swing towards and from thework at the side of the slotted portion of the presser-foot.

CARL F. WHITAKER. 

